Teddy, a loving pup who helped inspire us to board doggies

March 2, 2011March 20, 2012

Teddy was the first dog that we boarded in our home that was not our own. We know his human mom and dad, and they chose us because we’d be home day and night, and would certainly give the love and attentive care he needed while one or both of them traveled.

puppy photo — Teddy at home with toys, August 2010

When they got him as a puppy, they rescued him from a neglect situation. He was no longer malnourished, and eating and doing well, but they didn’t want to take any risks with his care. He was our house guest off and on during September and October of 2010. At that time we weren’t blogging or we would have surely taken a million photos and bragged about him back then.

Here is a belated tribute to our puppy nephew Teddy. He never met a toy he didn’t like, he has got a really big heart and is a good napper too.

These photos were taken by his human mommy Mandy who is also a professional photographer of animals & people, including weddings and artistic photos. For more info on her work see www.MandyLovesPhotography.com

Teddy opened our hearts to having guest dogs in our home. It’s worth the work, to know that a sensitive and wonderful spirit like Teddy is safe and happy while his parents travel. Thanks Teddy!

If you would like to learn more about our in-home dog boarding service see www.BarneysHomeDogBoarding.com

February 28, 2011March 20, 2012

Creating your own waking up rituals- tea time part 1

How you start your day is an important way to improve how you feel throughout your day. Positive rituals you create as part of your waking up process can help you to feel like this is YOUR day, and that you’re going to enjoy it.

soymilk, yerba mate tea, and honey — Taking a moment for tea time

In our house, Lorenzo and I are very much in love with our tea. One of our favorite cups of tea is yerba mate, with Organic Valley chocolate soy milk, and honey. Here is the wikipedia page on yerba mate. Basically it is a traditional tea native to South America which has caffeine and other natural stimulants. This brand we use Guayaki can be bought online or at Whole Foods and similar stores, and in bag form only at Trader Joes. Organic Valley chocolate soy milk tastes so good you could even have a cup of it as an “I’m behaving” dessert. 🙂 Yerba mate has a pleasing smell, and with the honey and soy milk, it is very tasty. I like to eat a high-protein breakfast, and then have a cup of yerba mate and sit and meditate. I sit by our front windows where I have a nice view.

Many of my clients work outside their home, and their morning wake up consists of dressing in clothes that they don’t enjoy, skipping breakfast, and rushing out the door. Their mind and energy is already focused in the future on their work and the hardest tasks of their day. I understand this completely, but even in the busiest of days there is another way. Most people could build two minutes into that time where you take a break, take some deep breaths, a few sips of tea, or just sit or stretch, and reflect on the big picture of your life, or something that you love. Set the tone for your day, rather than letting your tasks and duties set the tone. Serenity and peace of mind do not come to your life accidentally. You have to plant it in your heart, one little morning break at a time. Here’s to your peace of mind, and positive morning rituals that are uniquely yours.

February 25, 2011March 20, 2012

Splashes of color & spreading joy

I finally went walking today, to burn off some cupcake calories! On my walk I noticed some houses and buildings that were painted in more stand-out, creative colors. It’s these kind of details that make walking even more enjoyable for me. As an energy reader I always see how pleasing colors of one’s clothing and home environment can uplift one’s energy. I think the vivid color combinations in Lorenzo’s prints can cause the same positive effect. I wonder if the exterior colors of these people’s homes uplift them as much as they do me on my walks. I am grateful that they decided to stand out and provide some colorful joy to themselves and others.

house photo — Pumpkin - what a beautiful color for a house!

front door — A plum colored door - why not?

February 23, 2011March 20, 2012

“Cupcake Week” celebrates delicious new art piece and sugary goodness

So guess what? Now Lorenzo is making art that inspires life in a whole new way.

copywrighted image of strawberry cupcake done by Chicago artist Lorenzo Ross — The Adventures of Ms. Strawberry Cupcake

Lorenzo’s latest piece “Adventures of Ms. Strawberry Cupcake” has inspired us to create and celebrate our own new holiday: Cupcake Week! Here’s the inspirational print, now available on our etsy shop PsychicUnicorns

In this print Ms. Strawberry Cupcake is strolling by mountains of chocolate ice cream topped in hot fudge, of course.

Cupcake Week lasts from Feb 2/22/11 until Monday Feb 2/28/11 so you still have time to celebrate! If you don’t know any gourmet cupcake places, they are all over Chicagoland. You can search for cupcake bakery on yelp.com to get you started.

photo of four gourmet cupcakes — gourmet cupcakes from Sensational Bites in Chicago

Here’s what we did to celebrate cupcake week so far. We went to Sensational Bites, a gourmet bakery that bakes cupcakes, pies, cakes, etc., in Lakeview, Chicago. We read famed yelper Johnny T’s yelp review and knew that place was worthy of our celebration. Here’s a link to the yelp page for Sensational Bites

This photo shows most of the heavenly cupcakes we consumed yesterday. We ate the almond coconut cupcake in the cafe, so it is not shown in this photo. Clockwise from the top we ate: orange dreamsicle, german chocolate, raspberry truffle, and Butterfinger (peanut butter). They were all close-your-eyes-and-savor delicious! True story, I think I have been craving the raspberry truffle cupcake for the last six months, not knowing or finding exactly what I needed until my first rapturous moment yesterday when I took a bite. That cupcake is actually filled with the mushy yummy raspberry chocolate part too. My favorite, to say the least. Lorenzo’s favorite was the german chocolate one, saying it’s one of the best versions of german chocolate he has had. German chocolate is practically a personal religion for him. 🙂 I figured finding out which he liked second best would be more telling, but he replied “Picking one would be like saying which child you loved the most.” So there you have it folks, art inspiring life. Yummmmmm!

On Friday I will blog about our continued adventures during Cupcake Week. Stay tuned. If you are inspired to celebrate your own Cupcake Week, you may want to buy the Adventures of Ms. Strawberry Cupcake print to make it truly official, and as always eat cupcakes responsibly. Hydrate and eat plenty of protein so that you can stay healthy and balanced, while swimming in sugary bliss.

February 21, 2011May 13, 2011

New Week, New Art, New Look

Hi everyone! So today we posted on our Etsy.com shop prints of Lorenzo’s two newest works, Amber the mermaid, and the Lovable Lion. They are the first of many new drawings that begin as pencil and/or ink drawings and bloom into color with detailed computer graphics coloring. Lorenzo has taken his playful colorful style to a new level. We hope you enjoy them! See our etsy shop for pricing and background stories.

copyrighted image of Amber the Mermaid — Let Amber bring aquatic fun and flow to your home

copyrighted image of Lovable Lion by Lorenzo Ross — Lorenzo's Lovable Lion will walk right into your heart!

February 18, 2011March 20, 2012

The Life & Times of YoYo the Cat – Part 1

YoYo is our youngest “son.” Yes, we are one of those people that think of our pets as our children, sort of. He is very vocal, and loves to eat. He’s a pretty good cuddler, and he is also a peace maker. When Zen and Bambi, our two female cats, start a noisy fight he comes running and puts himself in between them. Here he is as I am about to give him a treat.

YoYo runs on top of the fridge when we have guests. After a while he comes down to investigate. I have to feed him the most wet food, so the other two cats have time to eat theirs. Otherwise he will eat his and try to steal theirs.

He used to try to play with our old dog Barney, though Barney never seemed to get the joke. Every time I would bring Barney in from a walk, YoYo would lie in a special hiding place. Then I would take off Barney’s leash and harness, and Barney would do his victory run through the house. YoYo would jump out and ambush him. Barney ignored him so really YoYo would only swipe at Barney’s backside as he ran by. YoYo was always so pleased with himself every time, and it was so adorable how he never tired of this game.

Here’s to our chubby, playful peace maker. One of the wonderful spirits that makes our home home.

February 16, 2011March 20, 2012

Out with the old, in with the new!

THE OLD

OK so I think the serenity prayer for clothing from the earlier post must have helped. I also did meditation and “read” my own energy. I donated one box of books and two big bags of clothing today. I was pretty amazed at the reasons why I kept extra possessions, going all the way back to childhood. I have a feeling the energy of excess possessions will be a popular new topic for my readings with clients.

THE NEW

Our website www.BarneysHomeDogBoarding.com is finally up and running! Please check it out, and be gentle with your feedback! 🙂 Please also forward it to the dog lovers in your life.

February 14, 2011March 20, 2012

The Serenity Prayer- for Clothing

Remember ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first! Here’s a prayer I just wrote for myself, as I begin to once again give away all the extra clothes I keep for no good reason at all. Well, since I read energy I know there are pretty complex reasons we keep clothes we don’t really need or even wear. I also know it would be really helpful for me to give them away, to lighten my load so to speak. Perhaps you need this prayer too? I’ll let you know on Wednesday if it worked! 🙂

February 11, 2011March 20, 2012

First Official Announcement of New Pet Service – Barney’s Home Dog Boarding

barneypluspaws382W127H — Barney's Home Dog Boarding- a Bed & Breakfast for Your Dog

OK so the website and yelp page will be done within a few days, but I just can’t wait any longer. Starting Monday, Valentine’s Day, we are all ready to begin Barney’s Home Dog Boarding! Lorenzo and I will board one or two cat-friendly mellow dogs from the same home only. We are fully insured and ready to talk to any dog owners you know, who need a calm safe home to board their dog(s) when they travel. Our rates are $40/night for one dog, and $55/night for two dogs from the same home. We offer $10 off the first night for new clients. We both work from home and we have a yard, so we offer so much companionship both night and day, and a literal home away from home. Please help us spread the word to dog lovers everywhere.

If you are interested in getting email updates on this, let me know and I will keep you posted. Otherwise check back here for periodic news. This image is a tiny preview from our website. For more info call me at 773-728-7884 or email us at JL@BarneysHomeDogBoarding.com

February 9, 2011March 20, 2012

Why I love Charlie Parker, Jazz, Pandora.com, and my iPhone 4

Our cat YoYo relaxing by the heating vent

This is an “11th hour” blog post, just squeaking in as a “Wednesday” blog post. Today was a series of unexpected bursts of creativity, leading me to half start about half a dozen projects. Hopefully tomorrow I will have the kind of creativity that helps me to finish those projects! Let’s just say I will have really big and good news for Friday’s blog post, God willing…..

I am now listening to a custom Jazz station I made on Pandora.com. If you haven’t tried the Pandora.com website, I definitely recommend it. It’s free. There are occasional ads, but they are very rare. You could upgrade to a paid version with no ads that is inexpensive. But free is good. You can make and save a virtual station based on music similar to any artist at all. After such a creatively divergent day, the Charlie Parker station I have on Pandora is so perfect. It is cheerful, as if to say, “Good for you Janet for starting six things today! Why not!!!!”

I am listening to Pandora with my iPhone 4 right now. I showed my lounging cats to my friend the other day with the “Face Time” feature, since she also has an iPhone 4. That means you basically see live video during the call. She got to see how cute and relaxed my cats are when no “strangers” are around. This photo of our male cat YoYo is a good illustration of such a look.

OK so time to post. Big news Friday!